


Did My Heart Fly To Your Service

by Shenandoah76209



Series: Chains [11]
Category: Firefly, Pitch Black (2000), Riddick (2013), Serenity (2005), The Chronicles of Riddick Series
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26374717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shenandoah76209/pseuds/Shenandoah76209
Summary: Riddick is still amazed that River married him.  Then she started giving him children.  He's pretty certain that being a Daddy is the hardest job yet.
Relationships: Richard B. Riddick/River Tam
Series: Chains [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/411024
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	Did My Heart Fly To Your Service

**Author's Note:**

> I am in my condition  
> A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king;  
> I would, not so!--and would no more endure  
> This wooden slavery than to suffer  
> The flesh-fly blow my mouth. Hear my soul speak:  
> The very instant that I saw you, did  
> My heart fly to your service; there resides,  
> To make me slave to it; and for your sake  
> Am I this patient log--man.  
> -The Tempest, William Shakespeare

Pregnant. She was pregnant.

First, she’d married him. Gave him every wish, fulfilled all his hopes and married him.

Now she was pregnant.

He hadn’t known he could love anyone this much. Hadn’t known he could love at all until her. Wanted to get on his knees and worship her, kiss the oh so slight curve to that once flat stomach and then…

After he’d tucked her into bed he’d done some hard thinking on how things would need to change a bit. They already had body armor and would be wearing it on every job. Riddick didn’t want his wife (still really liking that he got to say that) shot, but he didn’t want to get shot and scare the hell out of her either. From now on, every job, due diligence would need to be done and done again. And any place they hit dirt; he’d be researching to see what they could pick up cheap. He didn’t know much about families or kids, but he knew people with children seemed to be broke more often than not.

So money would be a bigger concern than usual. Safety, money, and planning for the future. He looked over at the bed, his beautiful Kitten asleep, sprawled across the mattress, her arms around his pillow. Looked around the room. He’d need to get out of the habit of putting his shivs down on lower shelves. What’d he heard Simon and Jayne say back on that last visit, baby proofing? He’d need to do baby proofing.

Kitten’s eyes opened and he could smell her amusement along with her smile, “ _Zhàng fu_ should stop worrying and come back to their bed.” She sat up and the quilts slid off her body, white skin, those outstanding breasts and dark nipples, “Incentive.”

Fuck yes it was.

* * *

Tiny feet drumming against his abdomen and he felt Kitten groan in discomfort and fatigue. Twins. His tiny Kitten was giving him twin boys. Jayne and Simon had convinced Mal to take work on Persephone for two weeks. Kitten’s due date fell within that time frame and likely would be in the earlier portion of that window. According to Simon twins usually came early.

Sweet unholy fuck did he itch. For his wife’s body. For space. For blood. Everything seemed to just close in the longer they were dirtside. Working for Badger helped some but not enough. Kitten was huge, couldn’t fight beyond shooting, the weight of the twins keeping her from anything strenuous. Guns and shivs made for throwing gave her some reassurance but she’d been having nightmares.

Thank fucking God for the counselor. Kitten hadn’t ever lost touch with her, checking in regularly and when she’d explained what was going on the woman had given her some tips to help deal with the fears. She didn’t go anywhere unarmed and he was damn grateful for that. Badger’s need for husking and programming kept her mind occupied at least.

He put a hand on her swollen belly and rubbed, gentle circles that he’d learned soothed the twins and helped his woman sleep. Apparently, orgasms could bring on early labor so Kitten wasn’t allowed any. Which meant he wasn’t having any either. Gave him a lot of energy to work off. Especially when Kitten needed a nap.

He let his gaze go over the room again, the walls lined with shelves or bureaus. The desk in the corner, he’d mounted cabinets over it as well to make the most of available storage space. He remembered when it was an empty room, when he and Kitten were bedding down on the floor in the common space, a layer of foam between the two of them and the floor, secondhand quilts and pillows (and Dog) keeping them warm out in the Black.

He’d gotten the bassinets set up in the corner but eventually the twins would need a nursery. He was not going to fuck his woman into screaming his name only to wake up their children. And Kitten had been laughing with Kaylee and Mattie the other day. There’d been teasing about more kids, how much Kitten would miss having babies once the twins were grown. His wife hadn’t denied it or said, ‘no two is enough’. She’d just smiled and rubbed her belly.

Riddick got the sneaking suspicion that he would be going through this again.

Dog raised his head as he heard Riddick moving. He’d been confused at first, tilting his head and looking at Kitten’s belly as if he didn’t understand what was happening. Eventually he’d gotten used to the pregnancy and he’d never wavered when Riddick told him to guard Kitten at Badger’s place. “Yeah,” Riddick told him quietly. “Gonna put some thought into fixin’ things so we can protect our family.”

* * *

By the time the boys had been born he’d gotten Kitten’s office set up across from the head. Fixed the head with a shallow tub so they could bathe the twins. He’d had to make another head for passengers, especially given Mrs. Niska’s regular courier runs. But he’d created two spare rooms behind an encrypted lock and reinforced door.

Riddick tucked Tam and Bran into their beds and gave them each a kiss on the forehead. “You did real good today with your sisters,” He praised. He’d learned that children needed to be told when they’d done well. They required correction often enough that praise should be given when it was earned. And even ten-year-old boys needed a kiss good night. He didn’t care if they thought they were too old for it. He wasn’t and they could deal with it.

“Will _Lǎo mā_ be able to train tomorrow,” Tam asked in concern.

“No,” He shook his head. “No, having a baby is hard work. So it’s like with your sisters, remember? Took a solid month for _Lǎo mā_ to be able to train again. So we’re gonna take up her chores.”

“Are we goin’, going back to the moon _Bà ba_ ,” Bran wondered.

“Yeah we are,” He nodded. “Best place I know to keep you all safe until your mother is up and around.”

“Dog’ll like that,” Tam grinned at the animal sitting by the door. “And we can wave _Serenity_ easy, say hello to Uncle Simon and Aunt Kaylee. And Aunt Sheydra and Uncle Mal.” Sheydra had spent six years with Johns’ clan but ultimately hadn’t liked how much time they spent in cryo or the outer systems. When Johns’ clan had returned to Persephone she’d taken work with Badger for a while. _Serenity_ had crossed paths with her then and Mal had offered her a place. He’d finally gotten off his ass and asked her out after a year. It took him another two to propose.

“Yep, your mother’ll like that too.“ Riddick nodded, “After that…we’re gonna take a little trip to a rock where I met your mother. Tell you all about that and check a few things out.” He made sure their morning alarm was set and snapped his fingers for Dog as he left their room and headed to the next.

His girls had just turned five a few months ago. He’d figured that was it for kids, two of each but Kitten had other ideas. And she’d timed it so each birth was five years apart, give or take a few months. When he’d asked why she’d smiled and said five years between siblings gave the elder ones enough maturity that they wouldn’t fight with the younger children quite so much.

“Jack, Imai,” He knocked on their door just like he did the boys’. “You best be getting into bed.”

“We’re in bed _Bà ba_ ,” Imai’s voice called.

“Comin’ in,” He and Dog came through the door and he smiled when he saw his girls tucked into their bunks. Jacqueline Simone, as was appropriate perhaps, had paler skin and slightly lighter hair than her sister. She looked so much like her mother that her uncle Simon had said it was looking at a capture of his _mèi mei_ as a girl. That alone had him plotting how he’d need to keep her away from boys when she grew up.

Jayne Imai, had slightly darker skin, not by much though, though she’d definitely gotten her hair from him. It sprang in finger sized ringlets from her head and one of her brothers or parents had to braid it back for her. Her features were a blend of his and Kitten’s, wider eyes and high cheekbones, and a lush mouth he’d have to kill men for later in life.

“Will Mama be all right,” Imai asked worriedly.

Riddick nodded. His eldest daughter had gotten her name from her other uncle and the Imam. Since her uncle was not exactly dead they’d called her Imai to avoid confusion. “She’ll be fine, she’s just going to be resting, so we’re all going to take care of her and the baby.”

That got understanding nods from both his little girls. His little Jack didn’t talk as much as her sister, as much as she got her looks from her mother, her temperament was more like his; quiet, watchful. She liked the top bunk for just that reason.

The girls, like their brothers, were so damn smart, so he had four genius kids. Keeping them busy was a challenge like no other he’d ever faced. Of course, when he and Kitten had decided they’d like another baby, they’d also gotten the perfect project to engage little minds and hands. Jayne had retired from _Serenity_ after Jacobs from Johns clan had joined up so he could marry Mattie. Jayne had married one of the whores from Heart of Gold. He’d been happy to help Riddick rearrange a few things on _Sanguine_. In return Riddick and the boys had given him a hand building a small house on Herschel for the couple.

Now the hall that led to their rooms wound behind the passenger head and led to a small single bunk room for when their youngest grew up enough for a room of her own. That would be a little while from now. But once his little girls were tucked in and given their kisses he could go back to the bedroom he shared with his wife.

Kitten’s eyes opened as he came in the door and Riddick smiled. “How’re you feeling?”

“Bit tired, but pretty sure I’ll live,” She laughed softly. “I notice that one seems easier than two.”

“Yeah, I kinda saw that myself,” He smirked at her and stretched out on the bed to kiss his wife. “Gonna have a full house.”

Dark eyes gleamed at him wickedly, “Could always get rid of the last single passenger bunk, try for one more in five years.”

“Kitten, you’re just a glutton for punishment,” He laughed, kissing her again before he got up to check on their youngest. “Hey little Carolyn Leigh,” He looked down at the tiny girl with her clenched fists and unfocused eyes. “You wanna be a big sister in five years?”

* * *

“Bran grab your baby sister,” Riddick ordered as he brought _Sanguine_ in for a landing. “Tam, you wave Celeste and Heinrich, let ‘em know what’s goin’ on.

“On it,” Tam nodded, his fifteen-year-old voice cracking mid-word.

“ _Bà ba_!” Jack’s voice yelled from the galley, “Eavesdown says _Serenity_ ain’t here yet.”

“Son of a bitch,” He cursed. “Send Badger a wave, let him know Simon’s a no show and we need his best doc.”

“Yes sir,” He could hear his daughter’s fingers hit the keys of her cortex like gunfire.

Imai’s head popped into the bridge, “ _Lǎo mā_ says to tell you that we’ve got an hour at the most.”

An hour. An hour to get a doctor to the boat. An hour to get set up so they could live in the bedroom afterwards. An hour to figure a way to keep their kids from getting freaked out since they really hadn’t ever heard their mother screaming, much less screaming in pain. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that thanks to his wife’s foresight their bedroom had soundproofing.

Of course, they’d had an ongoing debate about how much soundproofing and if they should add anymore. Every one of their kids had Furyan senses. The boys at fifteen were showing signs of having his night vision and he had no doubt the girls would too. Funny enough their eyes seemed to work better than his, bright light was no more irritating to them than it was to their mother. Maybe it had something to do with nutrition. Or a gradual change versus the abrupt shift of his eyes.

Didn’t matter really, he was just glad his kids wouldn’t have his troubles.

But it had led to the question, did he and River add enough soundproofing that Furyan ears couldn’t hear through it? He depended on his hearing to keep track of the kids, to listen for problems with the ship, to know what was going on outside of the boat when they were dirtside.

Ultimately, they’d decided the low effect layer they had now, that kept the younger children from hearing what went on inside their room. But that didn’t help them now.

Persephone wasn’t his favorite place but they did have an ally in Badger. _Sanguine_ set down with a light thump and he locked the bridge down as fast as he could. Imai had Caro by the hand on the couch and was reading to her. More to keep her attention than out of need, since Caro, like all their kids, knew how to read and had for a while.

“Kitten, how’re you doin’,” He pushed the door to their bedroom open. Fuck he hated how her pain smelt.

“Well…” She prevaricated and he put a hand on her belly. It rippled under his palm.

“ _Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi_ ,” Riddick cursed. He’d picked that one up from Cobb who said it pretty often. “Kitten, I don’t think we’ve got a hour.”

“Worried it was too optimistic,” She admitted with a wince.

“Bran,” Riddick shouted for the son he’d told to grab Caro.

“Dad,” Bran appeared in the doorway, plastic sheeting in his hands. “Imai’s got Caro, I figured—”

“You figured right,” Riddick nodded. “Give me that. And grab the medical kit. Let me know if Badger’s got a doctor. _Serenity_ ain’t here.”

“ _Yī zhī méi yǒu mǔ qīn de shān yáng de ér zi_ ,” Bran’s response was one Riddick could sympathize with.

“Yeah,” He agreed. “Go on now. Tam!”

Dark worried eyes in the doorway, “What do you need?”

“Laundry room, top shelf, there’s a basket. Bring it in here.” He growled, a little too worried to watch his tone. Thankfully Tam took off at a run and brought the basket back within a minute.

His wife gasped and grabbed the back of the chair, “ _Yǔ sheng chù hùn zá de bēi wéi nú lì_.” She groaned the curse, “Riddick…I don’t think we have time for the doctor.”

“Yeah Kitten I’m getting that impression,” He agreed.

“Don’t patronize me you _liú kǒu shuǐ de biǎo zi hé hóu zi de bèn ér zi_ ,” She snapped the curse out at him.

Shit. She was getting close to actually giving birth. That’s when the real pain and cursing him generally started. Good, Bran had brought the medical kit. “Okay, take your sisters and go down to the cargo bay. Nobody comes in unless Badger is with them. Got me? Your Uncle Simon is the only exception.”

“Got it,” Bran nodded and shut the door.

“All right,” Riddick threw the plastic over the chair and began to strip the clothing off of his wife. A soft supportive bra and one of his long tee-shirts. Wrap her hair up in a soft braided bun at her neck so she didn’t have it sticking to her.

He and River had long ago determined that if they got hurt they needed to be able to stitch each other up without scaring the kids to death. As a result they were both decent medics. The med kit and the basket were their supplies. Old soft towels for mopping up blood. Ancient tee-shirts torn into strips for bandages.

“Kitten,” He kissed her gently. “We can do this.”

“Unghh… I know, I know,” She gasped and groaned. “ _Qīngwā qí de húndàn_.”

“Yep, that’s me,” Riddick agreed and helped her sit on the edge of the chair.

This wasn’t going to be much fun for either of them. Much as he loved their children, their births were agonizing. Kitten giving birth terrified him.

His beautiful wife took a deep breath and smiled, “It’ll be all right.” She groaned as her stomach rippled with another contraction. “Oooohhh… I hate you right now so bad Riddick. But…Unghh… Oh… I love you and it’ll be all right.”

“Well you do have a lot of practice,” He pulled himself together. If his wife in the middle of labor could reassure him, he could get his shit together.

* * *

Never again. Riddick shook his head. Six was more than enough. Kitten was exhausted. _Serenity_ had limped in five hours after their son had been born. Badger’s doctor had arrived right about when River was ready to start pushing.

And Riddick would owe Badger for the rest of his life. He’d gotten behind River so she could lean against him and pretty much use him as the birthing chair. Which meant he didn’t have to see the birth cord wrapped around his son’s neck. He didn’t have to tell his wife that she couldn’t push anymore. That she had to breathe through more agony while the cord was removed and only then could she push.

All he had to endure was his wife squeezing his hands to paste as she borrowed Furyan strength and screamed in pain. Like he’d told her a million times, if she was weak, he was a fucking wimp.

But, baby born, Kitten taken care of and resting in their bed, the baby cleaned up, room cleaned up, he wrapped their son in a blanket and brought him out to the galley.

Caro’s eyes went big, “Ooh… he’s little!”

“Yeah he is,” Riddick sat. “But you were even smaller baby girl.”

“Uh huh,” Bran agreed.

“What’s his name,” Jack tilted her head and Riddick grinned.

“Reynard Malcolm,” He told her quietly. “Who’s turn is it for dinner?”

“Mine,” Tam jerked his head at the slow cooker. “Got a soup going already.”

“Good,” It was damn nice to have kids as smart as his and Kitten’s. “We’re taking on cargo tomorrow, so that gives _Serenity_ some time to get here and maybe visit. Drop it on Boros and then we’re headed to the Universe’s moon.”

“Garden should be ready for a partial harvest,” Bran commented. “We can check on the animals too.”

“Yeah,” Riddick nodded. “You all got chores. Let’s get to them. Caro, you come with me, see that your _lǎo mā_ is all right.” His littlest girl tended to worry about her mother more. River thought Caro might have gotten a double dose of her intuition.

“Can we bring one of Dog’s boys with us when we leave the moon?” His youngest daughter inquired hopefully as he opened the door to his and Kitten’s room.

“We’ll have to see,” He wasn’t committing to that without talking to his wife first. Dog had lived a good long time, longer than he’d had any right to hope for really. But before he’d gone to chase rabbits in the afterlife River and Riddick had taken _Sanguine_ back to Not-Furya and the two of them had scooped up a female of Dog’s species as well as a litter of pups.

Universe’s moon was actually in need of an apex predator besides Riddick and the kids. The whole place ran wild except the station and the gardens. And with the entire damn moon River had figured out that bringing Dog’s species would actually keep the ecosystem going. Every system needed a prey species and a predator species.

Dog’s ‘boys’ as Caro called them, were actually friendlier than the wild litter. They were also the second generation of his species. Apparently in the wild, the average lifespan was about four or five years.

He set Caro on the bed to cuddle next to her mother and put Rey in his bassinet. Kitten opened her eyes as he turned around and he released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“We’ve got cargo?” She asked as she kissed Caro’s head.

“Tomorrow,” He nodded. “Bran’s showing the girls their algebra. Tam’s making dinner. This one,” He sat on the bed and tickled his littlest girl’s bare feet making her giggle. “Was worried about mama.”

“She hurt a lot,” Caro nodded. “But she’s better now.”

Riddick nodded his agreement, “Having a baby is hard work. Your mama is really strong. But I think, unless your mama really wants another one, that we have just enough kids.”

“Hmm…” Kitten smiled. “Think you’re right. Three of each.”

“We’ll have to start thinking about a bigger boat,” He chuckled.

“Reconfigure the walls again, make two larger bedrooms so three can share easily, and start taking on passengers more,” His wife suggested.

“Heinrich was making noises about using us for more of his shipping,” Riddick nodded. “Celeste is still pretty active too, despite stepping back more in the last few years.”

“Both want us to act as independent contractors,” Kitten nodded. “Something to think about.”

“They’ve got people they need taken places besides the couriers,” He took her hand. “We change things around; we could take the passenger quarters close to what they were when we bought the boat.”

“I could share with Imai an’ Jack?” Caro looked at them with big eyes. “Really?”

Riddick grinned. Caro barely spent any time in her own room unless she needed to sleep. She wanted to be with ‘the big girls’. “If we can figure out a way to rearrange the boat.”

Kitten met his eyes over their daughter’s head and gave him a tired grin. He got the feeling they were going to end up with a Dog junior on the boat and two kids rooms with three beds each.

* * *

He leaned back in the pilot’s chair and chuckled. He still didn’t have much use for mercs. But occasionally he and Kitten would get a wave from Dahl or her daughters. Turns out Heinrich was hiring Johns’ clan for some clean-up work and a retrieval. Heinrich also wanted people he could trust to bring his couriers with the information on the job.

Riddick and Kitten were in charge of bringing the couriers. They would all meet at the ranch on Herschel. Celeste had insisted. Her grandchildren, as she referred to his little pack of lunatics, must enjoy fresh air and sun and she really wanted to see Rey before he hit the four-year mark.

It wasn’t like he minded stretching his legs. All the kids except Rey could use some time on the horses and working on their outdoor survival skills.

Kitten came onto the bridge and slipped into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. “So, a trip to Pelorum and then out to Herschel?”

“Yep,” He grinned. “Dahl says Celeste offered to host the girls while she and Johns worked.” Chang was still working with them, though they’d had to pick up another tracker since Jacobs had fallen hard for Mattie and gone to work on _Serenity’s_ crew. Jayne had retired to Herschel not too far from the Niska spread about two years before the girls had been born. He’d gone back to Odin and proposed to Helen after spending a week at Heart of Gold. He had a son a little older than Imai and Jack, by the name of Shane.

The new tracker, a woman by the name of Hartfoot, was almost as small as River and apparently she and Chang were hot and heavy. And going strong for five years now.

“Dahl and Johns have a son now as well,” Kitten murmured the reminder softly. “Bryan. Ten years old. Sunny nature. Johns doesn’t want the merc guild for his son. Not unless he truly wants it and isn’t trying to be what he thinks his father wants.”

“Heinrich’s boys’ll be at the ranch too,” Riddick frowned. “I really didn’t like how they were looking at our girls last time.”

“They’re fourteen,” She kissed his cheek. “Time for stolen kisses and learning to flirt.”

“Their brothers had better keep an eye on them when I don’t have two watching,” Riddick growled.

“Celeste and Heinrich have their hands full. Anita has been doubling up on lessons,” His wife shook her head. Heinrich’s wife had waved Kitten in desperation asking about an educational program to keep her sons busy without wearing them out with bookwork. Apparently a fourteen and sixteen-year-old had more energy than she did, especially given that she had a ten-year-old and an eight-year-old as well. Niska’s line tended towards boys it seemed. Three older boys and one girl as the youngest. Heinrich probably thought that was just the right ratio.

“Have to ask her if she wants me to include them in the survival lessons. We could get Cobb to come and help out too,” He smiled slightly. “Shane and Salvation would probably like it, and they’re both about the right age.” Cobb’s wife Helen had popped out a son almost immediately. But she had a few years on River and had wanted to be sure her child would be healthy. Hence the rush.

Big surprise for both her and Cobb when a year or so after Caro was born Helen got pregnant again. This time with a girl, Salvation. Everyone called her Sally since Salvation was such a mouthful. She’d been born right in between Caro and Rey. Both of Cobb’s kids were kind-hearted until they were pushed. Then you’d better look out.

“I’m sure she’d appreciate that,” Kitten kissed him gently. “Children are sparring, Caro is studying. Rey is napping.”

“Yeah?” Riddick smiled up at her. He loved their children but River, his Kitten, she was and would always be, the center of his world. And as much as he loved their children, they tended to cut into the time he got alone with his wife.

“Maybe my _zhàng fu_ would like to pretend to put another child in his _nǚ ren_ ,” Kitten’s fingers stroked over his jaw. “Making them was always lots of fun.”

Well he’d heard enough. Picking up his wife and taking her to their room was a no brainer.

* * *

It wasn’t always hearts and flowers and sugar and spice, especially with daughters. Riddick got Rey down for his nap and had to grab Caro to keep her from climbing in with her baby brother. She had the tendency to treat him like her personal teddy bear when she was upset. “Hey, hey, he’s sleeping,” Riddick picked her up and carried her to her room. “What’s wrong?”

“ _Lǎo mā_ and _jiě jie_ are fighting,” Caro sniffled. “I don’t like it. My head hurts.”

“Yeah, it makes your Mama’s head hurt too,” He rubbed her back. “Remember how Mama said to concentrate on listening to one thing? Like your heartbeat or your brothers?”

“Trying,” She nodded. Soft dark eyes, long lashes and a sweet cupid bow of a mouth set against porcelain skin and set off by soft curls springing around her face, she’d turned into a combination of his and River’s looks. And his and River’s talents as it turned out. Just as smart as her brothers and sisters but with a little bit extra.

“Well, I’m going to go and remind your sister that fighting with their mother pisses me off. So, you’ll be feeling me be angry for a bit, but hopefully the fighting will stop,” He kissed her forehead.

His wife and their older daughters were in the galley where all lessons took place. He’d noticed that where he and the boys clashed occasionally they usually took care of any lingering irritation or aggression on the sparring mats. His daughters… well the only word he had to describe it was seethed. Especially Imai. That girl could hold a grudge better than anyone he knew.

This afternoon was behavioral practice. He’d have thought Jack and Caro would have the hardest time with it, Caro being so young and Jack being so much like him. The boys had long since learned their mother’s reasoning and when they’d visited Persephone City had been grateful for the lessons. In simple but good clothing and with Core manners no one had even given them a sideways look.

It had come in handy when they were looking for a birthday present for their mother. They’d gone into the city to get ideas and then back to Eavesdown to talk with Badger about what they could do.

But Jack simply watched, waited and absorbed. Caro might not completely understand but she could feel that her mother meant this for the best because she loved them. Imai… well. Stubborn, smart and fixed in her opinion that all the Core behavior and manners were a waste of time. In deference to the ears of every Furyan on the boat Imai wasn’t yelling at least.

“This is ridiculous!” She hissed at her mother. “Ridiculous and stupid. Why do we have to learn five times as much simply because we’re girls? The boys didn’t need to learn how to deal with a skirt. Or a fan or jewelry.”

“Because that is what young ladies do,” Kitten’s voice was cold, calm and disturbingly emotionless. “You are my daughters. And therefore you will learn how to function in society, any society.”

“I don’t wear skirts,” Imai snapped back. “I don’t like them and I don’t need to know how to behave with a skirt on. I don’t wear heels. So, I don’t need to know how to walk in them. I’m never going to go to a ball and flutter a fan or dance so I don’t need to know how to behave. You’re just trying to make us into your little clones. Well I’m not you and I’m not going to learn this _lè sè_. So _pū jiē_ and _cào nà_!” She picked up one of the delicate china cups and her brothers leaned forward as if to snatch it from her hand. They wouldn’t have made it in time but luckily Riddick was already behind her.

“If you throw that at your mother, you will not like what will happen to you, not one tiny bit,” Riddick growled furiously. His hand wrapped around her wrist in an iron grip. Unluckily he startled her into letting go of the cup. His daughter really needed to learn to use all of her senses all of the time. Luckily for her Tam caught the cup before it hit the metal decking and put it on the table with a sigh of relief.

“She’s—” Imai didn’t have the sense God gave a goat sometimes.

“I don’t give a _xié 'è de tā mā de_ what you think of these lessons,” He snarled in her face. “You will learn. You will learn everything your mother has to teach you and you will be _tiān shā de_ grateful for it. Or do you want to end up in some government lab, your brain cut into, surgeries to slice you up until you go crazy? Some programmed assassin with no mind of her own?”

Imai stared at him as if she’d never seen him before but Jack simply sipped her tea. Not for the first time Riddick wondered if Caro was his only daughter with some psychic ability. His daughter winked at him and he nearly sighed. “I don’t care what you think of these lessons. I don’t even care if you like them. They are needed. They are necessary. And if someone like me can learn to behave like a gentleman when I need to, then I know you can.”

“ _Bà ba_ ,” Caro had come out of the hall behind him and climbed up into her chair next to Bran. “Do you know tea ceremony?”

He let go of his daughter’s wrist and gave his little empath a smile, “I do. It’s been a while but I know how to serve tea just like your mama does.”

He turned the weight of his glare back to his oldest daughter, “I had to explain this to your brothers once. No doubt when Caro and Rey are older I’ll have to explain it again. I love you. I love all my children. But I love your mother. Your mother is the center of the ‘verse for me. If I ever hear you talk to her with that tone or that language again, you and I are going to spar and I will not go easy on you. You will live with pain for a very long time because apparently you don’t understand plain language.”

Bran half smiled, “At least they didn’t break _Lǎo mā’s_ tea set.”

“No, you and Tam have that distinction,” Kitten commented dryly. “In order to allow your _mèi mei_ time to absorb her father’s words, perhaps you will demonstrate with Jack how to properly request a dance?”

Riddick sat at the table and watched as his children continued their education.

* * *

When Kitten came to speak with him a week into their stay on Herschel, he knew something wasn’t quite right. When she took his hand and led him to their room… to speak privately he knew it wouldn’t be anything good.

“Kitten, I love you, and I’m always gonna love you, but you’re scaring the hell out of me,” He pulled her into his lap and kissed her.

“I…have something to tell you,” She told him softly.

“You don’t smell like you’re pregnant,” Riddick inhaled.

“No… this is something I Read,” Kitten shook her head. “Not pregnant. Agreed with you that six was enough.”

“Trouble coming?” Things had been going a bit too smoothly of late.

“Not…exactly,” She sighed. “You’re aware of Johns’ daughters. The older one is Rebecca and the younger is Katrina?”

“Yeah, nice girls, pretty sharp considering their parents are mercs,” He regarded his woman thoughtfully.

“Tamlin…” His wife sighed. “Our son is in love with Katrina. Completely.”

“Shit.” Riddick dropped his head to her shoulder and groaned. “What about her?”

“Only sixteen, but…”

“But?” He knew that tone.

“She is like her mother. Loves once. Fiercely. Forever,” Kitten told him.

“Please tell me they don’t think they’re some sort of Romeo and Juliet,” He groaned again.

“No,” Her voice skewed towards amused. “He hasn’t even touched her. Very good at masking his emotions.”

“Does he know she cares about him?” He looked at his beautiful wife.

“He does,” Kitten leaned against him with a sigh. “She does not know of his feelings. He believes he needs to wait until she is eighteen.”

“So Johns won’t want to kill him at least,” Riddick shook his head and wrapped his arms around her. “As if he could. They’re getting almost as good as we are.”

“Think to encourage a friendship, waves, letters,” She looked at him. “This won’t go away with time or distance.”

“No… no…he’s too much like me…” He kissed her throat. “Didn’t take him as long to find his girl but he fell just as hard.”

“Not angry?”

Riddick looked up at her in astonishment, “Kitten why would I be angry? I’m not thrilled because neither one of them is even twenty yet but he’s being pretty mature about the whole thing and not trying to take advantage. And that’s probably better behavior than you’d have gotten from me at that age if I’d met you when you were sixteen.”

“Daughter of a merc,” She murmured.

“Yeah, and Heinrich is Niska’s son, I don’t hate him,” He reminded her. “Now if some of Heinrich’s boys are eyeing Jack or Imai, then we’ve got a problem.”

“Jack is eyeing Augustine,” Kitten admitted. “He gazes, but he knows she is too young for anything but a look. Despite the way she looks at him.

“Bran and Imai aren’t getting any ideas about anyone are they?” Riddick sighed.

“So far no,” She shook her head.

“Well I’ll just take what I can get,” He looked at her. “Still glad you took me on?”

“More and more every day,” Kitten pressed her lips to his.

“Now who’s _chī xiàn_ ,” Riddick chuckled reminding her of what she’d said after Jack and Imai had been born.

* * *

Reynolds hadn’t really understood why Riddick insisted they all meet on Furya. To be honest, Riddick wasn’t entirely sure himself. All he knew was that Furya was the home world of his children. And they needed to be on Furya for this.

Kitten had kept him sane through all of it. The teenage drama, Caro nearly getting kidnapped. Jack rescuing her baby sister and nearly getting herself killed. Augustine had almost lost his mind over that and Jack being only seventeen stopped being an issue at that point for everyone. Imai and Bran seemed determined to make their parents crazy.

Until Bran got a look at Mal and Sheydra’s daughter and settled down to wait until she was old enough to not be under her father’s eye all the time. Considering the girl was only (barely) sixteen that was a good idea. Mal would try to castrate him if he so much as touched Sarah.

Imai hadn’t given up on driving them all nuts yet. He figured she’d meet someone when she gave up on that. But Riddick had seen Shane Cobb watching her and Imai watching him back when she was sure no one else was looking. So hopefully the two of them would go off and be crazy together. Shane just might be able to keep his oldest daughter out of trouble. Maybe.

Caro… well Bryan Johns had quite a crush on his little girl and she didn’t seem to exactly hate him. And Rey wouldn’t stop following Jayne and Helen’s daughter around. She had three years on him but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Riddick had no idea what was going to happen there. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

But never in a million years would he have thought he’d be waiting for Johns’ daughter to walk down the aisle, such as it was, while his son waited for her.

God really did have a sense of humor.

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: Okay folks…this is it. Did my best to wrap up everyone’s stories, or at least tie them off so they wouldn’t spring to life and take off on their own. I’m working on a couple other stories and I’m hoping to have at least one of them finished and beginning edits in a couple weeks. Thanks so much for reading and let me know if you liked it!
> 
> Chinese Translations:
> 
> Zhàng fu (husband)
> 
> Lǎo mā (mother / mom)
> 
> Bà ba (Dad, pops, daddy)
> 
> mèi mei (little sister)
> 
> Dà xiàng bào zhà shì de lā dù zi (To have the explosive-type diarrhea of an elephant)
> 
> Yī zhī méi yǒu mǔ qīn de shān yáng de ér zi (son of a motherless goat)
> 
> Yǔ sheng chù hùn zá de bēi wéi nú lì (Filthy fornicators of livestock)
> 
> liú kǒu shuǐ de biǎo zi hé hóu zi de bèn ér zi (Stupid son of a drooling whore and monkey)
> 
> Qīngwā qí de húndàn (frog riding bastard)
> 
> nǚ ren (wife)
> 
> jiě jie (older sister)
> 
> lè sè (Garbage, trash)
> 
> pū jiē (drop dead! / go to hell! / fuck you! (Cantonese)
> 
> cào nà (fuck that)
> 
> xié 'è de tā mā de (unholy fuck/evil fuck)
> 
> tiān shā de (Goddam! / goddamn / wretched)
> 
> chī xiàn (crazy / insane)


End file.
